BP (NYSE:BP) Stock Rating Lowered by UBS Group

BP (NYSE:BP) was downgraded by research analysts at UBS Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

BP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BP from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Raymond James raised their price target on BP from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of BP in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of BP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of BP in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.48.

BP Trading Down 6.6 %

BP stock traded down $1.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,983,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,604,293. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.16. BP has a 12 month low of $25.22 and a 12 month high of $40.40. The company has a market cap of $70.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 327.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

BP (NYSE:BP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.12). BP had a net margin of 0.20% and a return on equity of 10.96%. On average, equities research analysts predict that BP will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BP

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of BP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in BP by 404.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in BP by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,221 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in BP by 58.7% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.01% of the company’s stock.

About BP

BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, and Customers & Products segments. It engages in the production of natural gas, and integrated gas and power; trading of gas; operation of onshore and offshore wind power, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage facilities; trading and marketing of renewable and non-renewable power; and production of crude oil.